**How GOOD Is Ibrahim Mbaye, REALLY? — Transcript & Summary | SozAI** Source: https://sozai.app/transcript/ibrahim-mbaye-skill-analysis/ In-depth analysis of Ibrahima Ndiaye's football skills, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement in athleticism, shooting, dribbling, and distribution. ## Key Takeaways - Ndiaye has potential but needs to improve endurance and finishing power. - His dribbling and creativity do not yet match top-tier young wingers. - He contributes positively in aerial duels and shooting under pressure. - Distribution and defensive work are solid but not exceptional. - Currently, he is not projected as a future star or face of a top club. ## What the video covers - Ibrahima Ndiaye shows decent initial burst of speed but lacks sustained pace over long distances. - His aerial ability is mixed, with some threat inside the box but inconsistent duel engagement. - Shooting profile is below elite under-21 attackers, effective under pressure but weak on left foot power. - Movement inside the box is intelligent and fearless, though finishing requires improvement. - Dribbling stats and execution are underwhelming compared to top young attackers, lacking strength and sustained pace. - Distribution is above average but not elite, with limited long passing and switch of play. - Creativity is decent but not outstanding, with ordinary line-breaking passes and crossing. - Defensive contribution is modest with a respectable duel success rate but low activity. - Overall, Ndiaye is technically capable with useful foundations but lacks a unique selling point. - The video also includes a brief sponsored segment promoting Proton Pass for digital security. ## Chapters 1. 00:00 Introduction and Athletic Profile 2. 01:03 Shooting and Finishing Analysis 3. 03:18 Sponsored Segment: Proton Pass 4. 04:14 Dribbling and Ball Carrying Assessment 5. 06:25 Distribution and Creativity Evaluation 6. 09:09 Defensive Contribution and Tactical Role 7. 10:29 Final Thoughts and Conclusion Answers ## Questions about this video How does Ibrahima Ndiaye's speed compare to his teammates? Ndiaye has a good initial burst of speed over short distances but lacks sustained pace over longer distances compared to teammates like Barcola. Is Ndiaye a strong aerial threat? He shows some aerial threat inside the box and willingness to compete in duels, but his success rate and consistency in aerial challenges are mixed. What are Ndiaye's main weaknesses according to the analysis? His finishing power, especially with his left foot, dribbling execution, long-distance sprinting, and creativity in distribution are areas needing improvement. ## Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown 00:00 Speaker A The second coming of Sadio Mané or an underwhelming hybrid of Saint-Maximin and Hudson-Odoi? Just how good is Ibrahima Ndiaye? 00:26 Speaker A Statistically, Ibrahima Ndiaye's athletic profile is a little bit underwhelming. Now, from an aerial perspective, you know, other youngsters do stand out more. When you look at it in a bit more detail comparing to his teammate Barcola, Barcola has the edge in terms of maximum 00:39 Speaker A speed, sprint volume, and sprint distance. Ndiaye's data suggests that he's not really a high-volume runner. In terms of the Wyscout data, he gets involved in aerial duels. Success rate isn't particularly impressive. Slightly encouraging detail is that his headed 00:52 Speaker A goal numbers suggest that when he drifts into the box, there is threat there. From the eye test, the biggest question for me is that ability to sustain speed over distance. He picks up pace nicely, particularly over the first 10 to 20 meters, 01:03 Speaker A but he doesn't always maintain it. Now, for a young player, that's something that I'd want to see improve because he doesn't look like a natural long-distance sprinter. Aerially, the footage is a bit more mixed. There's moments when he competes well, attacks 01:15 Speaker A the ball. There's also occasions when he seems to disappear from the duel. For a winger, though, I'd say overall the willingness is generally positive. He does get involved regularly and he's not shy from competing. I will come back to 01:26 Speaker A the headed goal threat when you get into the shooting and finishing profile. Overall, not an athletic monster, but there's useful foundations. Initial burst is there. Decent enough aerial threat to contribute when he's inside the box, but he really does need to 01:38 Speaker A improve that intensity over long distance. [cheering] Statistically, Ibrahima Ndiaye's shooting profile is below other leading under-21 attackers. Some like Youssoufa Ndiaye, for example, played a lot more games. We have to bear that in mind, but he's closer to that elite bracket when 01:59 Speaker A it comes to execution and by is closest to say a Rio Ngumha. Now, looking deeper, Embaye is effective at shooting under pressure more than he is when he's got more time. His left foot grade is low. His open play numbers look decent, 02:12 Speaker A but there's nothing here that suggests that this is going to be a player who's going to become a 20-goal wing forward straight away. Wyscout data suggests that he does generate a decent amount of xG, but currently he's more of an Amad 02:22 Speaker A Diallo type level player in terms of that overall goal threat. Now, the eye test does give me some optimism. His movement inside the box is really good for his age, finds pockets well, makes intelligent movements, understands where to position himself to receive chances. 02:35 Speaker A He's also fearless and willing to attempt difficult finishes, aerial ones, inside the box. Now, the concern is his left foot. He's happy to use it, but he doesn't generate anywhere near the same power as he does with his right foot. 02:46 Speaker A So, I'd want to see overall a bit more oomph in terms of his finishing in general. 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These type of profiles operate completely different level. Now, we have to account for the limited amount of senior minutes, but the 04:49 Speaker A underlying execution numbers still aren't particularly encouraging. Doesn't really complete many high difficulty dribbles. Flare execution, modest. 04:57 Speaker A Long-distance carrying isn't elite. Tackle resistance is decent for his age, but there's nothing here suggesting a truly exceptional one-on-one profile. 05:05 Speaker A Now, the Wyscout data also tells a similar story. He's not a high-volume dribbler. Look at someone like Doku, completely. And this is taking into account all competitions, including youth football. 05:14 Speaker A Positive is that when he does carry the ball, he generally looks to progress it forward with a good ratio of progressive runs relative to his dribble volume. But from the eye test, I'm going to be honest, I wasn't blown away. I think 05:24 Speaker A he's tricky enough. He can shift both ways. He's capable of cutting inside or going down the line, but he doesn't look particularly difficult to stop. There's not a huge amount of strength, power, or sustained pace when carrying that ball. 05:36 Speaker A And when you look at genuinely generational younger attackers, you know, the difference for me is noticeable. What I do like is that he's got a good short burst of acceleration. 05:44 Speaker A When he goes onto the outside, he can sort of sieve through gaps and create separation over those first few meters, but overall, this is probably one of the areas where I expected a hell of a lot more. Technically capable, but the 05:56 Speaker A dribbling to me doesn't scream wonderkid. Statistically, Ibrahim Amadou distribution profile is above average, but not particularly exciting. So, you compare that to someone like Lamine Yamal, who's elite territory in terms of how he moves that ball around, and 06:18 Speaker A Amadou is obviously way behind. Now, under pressure, he shows good security of the ball, doesn't panic, retains the ball well. When he's got a bit more time and space, the execution doesn't really stand out. His switch of play is 06:28 Speaker A limited. There's nothing here that suggests that he's an elite-level possession player. Wyscout numbers are a bit more encouraging. A lot of volume of possession for a winger, which shows that he is involved in the game. Again, ball retention numbers are strong. I 06:41 Speaker A think the limitation is the range of distribution again. The long passing is nonexistent. I hope he eye test neat and tidy, drifts into pockets well, combines intelligently, but there's a difference between being involved in possession and actually controlling it. Someone like 06:53 Speaker A Kvaratskhelia would receive it wide, still dictates the rhythm of an attack through his passing, his decision-making, his aura on the ball. 07:01 Speaker A Amadou for me doesn't give me that feeling. He gets touches, but at the moment it's kind of like he's a wall passer. Ball comes into him, goes into pockets, plays it back. 07:09 Speaker A Or sometimes he'll choose to dribble with it, but there's nothing that suggests that he's dictating the flow of the game with his distribution. 07:24 Speaker A Statistically, Ibrahim Amadou's creativity profile is decent, but not really exciting. His line-breaking passing is fairly ordinary. His crossing numbers are mo 07:39 Speaker A the right, you want a right-footed winger to offer genuine outswinging delivery from wide areas. While SciSports data suggests that his expected assists per 90 isn't particularly high, his through ball pass volume is quite low. You compare that to 07:51 Speaker A someone like Kvaratskhelia, Doué, these are players who are looking to thread balls through through defensive lines. 07:56 Speaker A Embalo doesn't really attempt them that often and his through pass accuracy at 20% is also poor. From the eye test, there are some positives. His low cutbacks, his balls across the box, grounded ones can be effective. And when 08:09 Speaker A he cuts inside, he can spot little passes into runners. But, there's nothing that I've seen here which made me think that's a pass only a top-level player could make. He can combine, he can cut inside, he can slide 08:20 Speaker A the occasional ball through, but this is not groundbreaking for me. And that's the big concern for me because if Embalo is going to develop into a right-sided winger, I want to see a lot more quality aerial deliveries, you know, propelled crosses, whipped 08:33 Speaker A crosses from those wide areas. At the moment, his creativity looks functional, but it doesn't look like a defining strength. 08:47 Speaker A Statistically, Embalo's defensive profile is average but fairly well-rounded. There isn't any major weaknesses across the individual metrics, but there isn't a standout strength either. His positioning, blocking, tackling, and 1v1 defending all sit around that solid to average level. And the SciSports data tells a 09:02 Speaker A similar story. He isn't a particularly active defender. He doesn't rack up a huge number of duels, but the duel success rate is 55%, which is respectable for a young winger. 09:12 Speaker A From the eye test, I do like his work rate, discipline, willing to press, doesn't give me the impression of a player who switches off when his team loses the ball. There is that willingness to track back. What I'm less 09:22 Speaker A convinced about is his 1-on-1 defensive technique. He can be a little eager to engage, sometimes diving in and allowing the sort of defenders that he's looking to press to turn him or break up from him. So, not a huge amount of defensive 09:33 Speaker A intelligence in terms of knowing exactly when to commit, when to delay. That said, I would say his short burst of pace does give him some value. He can close opponents down, hurry them into mistakes, and also do like his work 09:45 Speaker A against opposition full-backs where he does look to sort of sit tight enough to them to prevent them from progressing the ball forward, and he's capable of stretching a leg out to intercept passes or cutbacks. Overall, a good, useful 09:58 Speaker A defensive asset. At PSG, Ibrahim Mbaye has played on both flanks, but with Kvaratskhelia and Barcola occupying the left, most of his minutes have come down the right. Now, from there, his biggest weapon is that burst on the outside. He can beat his 10:11 Speaker A man, get to the byline, and fire low balls across the box. But, he can also come inside, combine, and look for through balls. One issue is that weaker foot, the left-foot shooting isn't developed enough. So, when you do play 10:21 Speaker A him on the right-hand side and he cuts in, his goal threat is limited, but he's still dangerous when he's running onto the ball and finishing on that right foot. 10:29 Speaker A At Liverpool, if he does cut inside, those disguised through balls could find an overlapping runner. Someone like Szoboszlai making runs from midfield. 10:35 Speaker A And he's also got using his pace to beat his man and attack the far post with a low, grounded delivery. And in terms of balance of the front three or front four, I think Mbaye alongside a goal-scoring winger like a Barcola on 10:48 Speaker A the other flank makes more sense to me than Mbaye and Nkunku on both flanks. 10:52 Speaker A Then, there's more emphasis on those two central players to score a lot of goals. 10:56 Speaker A Mbaye can provide width, penetration, final ball, but I think a winger like a Gakpo or Barcola on the other side can attack the box and provide the goals. 11:05 Speaker A So, I think you get a much more complimentary partnership. In conclusion, I was going into this video thinking Mbaye is going to be, you know, a bargain wonderkid. I came away slightly underwhelmed. Not just from the data. The data I was willing to forgive, 11:28 Speaker A purely because young player, 18 years old, hasn't played that much minutes. So, you don't really want to trust too much on the data. 11:35 Speaker A So, it was more about the eye test for me. I was looking for that spark. And don't get me wrong, there was flashes of brilliance with Imbrahim and perhaps I'm being too harsh. He is a young player. 11:45 Speaker A It's just I came away looking at this player thinking there's no USP here that blows me away. 11:50 Speaker A Something that he's going to have that is the best in the world, a unique superpower. Maybe my expectations going into this video were too high. 11:59 Speaker A But I just thought, okay, look, you might not be as good as Doue, you can't break into that PSG team at 18, but who can? 12:06 Speaker A But I just wanted more. And the more I look at him I don't know. For me, he looks more of a potential rotation option {slash} supporter for a big team. He doesn't strike me as someone who's got it in him 12:19 Speaker A to be the face of a top club, even in the long term and I'm projecting it forward. 12:25 Speaker A But again, I might be wrong. Let me know what you guys think about him. In terms of where I see him, I think he can definitely become a Champions League level player. Would he be a starter level player for, you know, in the 12:36 Speaker A business end of knockout stages? What I'm trying to think about is every year there's a new youngster that comes on the scene, especially in wide areas. Is he going to be such a unique player that he's a once in a generation type 12:47 Speaker A level winger? There's not, you know, 4-5 years down the line, he's still going to be one of those star names. 12:52 Speaker A I personally don't see it. But let me know in the comments below if you disagree. Let me know who you want to see next. Um I am doing Rodrygo next for the Barcelona fans. 13:00 Speaker A Like, share, and subscribe. I'll see you guys next time. Bye. 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